Last modified: 2011-12-09 by antónio martins
Keywords: swallows and amazons | swallow | amazons | siam |
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This is a book by Arthur Ransome. The Swallows of the title are the
siblings John, Susan, Titty and Roger, who sail the boat Swallow.
(Titty is presumably a nickname for Titania — the book was written
in a more innocent age).
As sailors the children refer to each other as Captain John, Mate Susan,
Able Seaman Titty and the Boy Roger. Sailing on Coniston Water in the English
Lake District (which they simply call the Sea) they meet up with the Blackett
girls, Ruth and Peggy. The girls see themselves as pirates and call themselves
the Amazons. Their uncle Jim (alias Captain Flint) says that pirates are
ruthless. So Ruth goes as Captain Nancy, and her sister is Mate Peggy.
The book was originally published in 1930.
Mike Oettle, 26 May 2008
However, here I learn that
The first edition of Swallows and Amazons was published almost without illustrations. Ransome so disliked the pictures by Steven Spurrier that were commissioned by his publisher, Jonathan Cape, that the only pictures in the first edition were the end paper map of the lake and a map of Wild Cat Island. »(…)« Ransome illustrated the remainder of his books himself. In 1938, he drew his own pictures for Swallows and Amazons and Swallowdale.Two crossed pennants (i.e., triangular flags): counter-bendwise a classic pirate pattern. and bendwise a white flag with “black” (i.e., ink color) swallow outline, flying to the hoist seems to be some kind of logo for the series, judging for the many book covers in which it is at the top of (Swallows and Amazons, Great Northern?, and Missy Lee. This same image, but colorized so that the swallow is medium blue, is the masthead of this fansite, where the same image is given also in other sizes and formats.
The DVD case of a joint edition of two 1984 TV episodes of Swallows and Amazons Forever! (The Big Six and Coot Club) shows a modified version of the crossed penants motive, with the swallow with white belly and flying to the fly (probably also in the series’ merchandise). There was also a 1963 TV series called Swallows and Amazons, still in black and white. The 1974 W.B. movie Swallows and Amazons shown the Amazons’ flag with ragged fly in the main poster / cover. Here, what seems to be a joint pennant for both Swallows and Amazons, in real-life actual cloth! (Black hoist stripe with skull and crossed bones, and fly as described.)
António Martins, 27 May 2008
Here is a clip
from a trailer for the BBC series from 1962/1963: series posted on YouTube:
The scene in a boathouse making the skull and crossbones was filmed in 1962
at Huyton Hill School, Pullwood Bay, Windermere.
Gordon Dyer, 02 Jul 2011
Susan makes a flag for their boat — a white pennant with a blue
swallow.
Mike Oettle, 26 May 2008
It was in fact Titty that did so.
Matthew Good, 13 Oct 2011
Indeed
here,
the cover of the 1st edition shows what sems to be a white rectangular ~3:5
flag with a large medium blue swallow outline, flying to the bottom fly.
António Martins, 27 May 2008
The Amazons fly a skull and crossbones pennant (white bones on black).
Mike Oettle, 26 May 2008
Indeed here
and here,
the cover and title page of a later edition, «illustrated by the
Author», showing two crossed pennants (i.e., triangular flags):
counter-bendwise a classic pirate pattern.
António Martins, 27 May 2008
Another flag (aside from the Red Ensign) that is
mentioned in the book is one that Uncle Jim (Captain Flint) has brought back
from Siam: a green flag showing a white elephant.
Uncle Jim lives on a houseboat on the lake, and normally hoists the Red Ensign,
but when the Swallows and Amazons declare war on him, he hoists his elephant
flag. When the children attack, they haul down the elephant flag and hoist the
Jolly Roger instead (a rectangular flag in Uncle Jim’s flag locker).
I have not seen an illustration of the elephant flag, but I imagine it is of
the same design as the red-and-white Siamese flag of
1855-1916 and 1941-45 (as Thailand in those years). One of the children in
fact calls the green flag the Siamese flag.
Mike Oettle, 26 May 2008
It seems that of green flags there were precious few (if any) in
Thailand back then.
António Martins, 27 May 2008
The green elephant flag is a mystery. Possibly it was an invention of the
author’s; on the other hand it is remotely possible that he had himself
bought such a flag (made for tourists perhaps?) while in Bangkok.
Mike Oettle, 29 May 2008
This flag was reported before, though the correspondent failed to identify
the book: see the last entry on "Fictional/Erroneous
Flags (Thailand)".
Eugene Ipavec, 30 Jul 2008
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